noun
Meaning 1
A terrestrial burrowing rodent; ground squirrel.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
spermophile
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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/ˈspɜː(ɹ)məfaɪl/
noun
Meaning 2
any of various terrestrial burrowing rodents of Old and New Worlds; often destroy crops
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: ground squirrel, gopher
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: squirrel
Narrower terms: antelope squirrel, whitetail antelope squirrel, antelope chipmunk, Citellus leucurus, mantled ground squirrel, Citellus lateralis, suslik, souslik, Citellus citellus, flickertail, Richardson ground squirrel, Citellus richardsoni, rock squirrel, Citellus variegatus, Arctic ground squirrel, parka squirrel, Citellus parryi
History
Etymology
From Spermophilus from σπέρμα (spérma, “seed”) + φιλέω (philéō, “love”), hence, "seed-lover". This genus formerly included most of the terrestrial squirrels, but all of the North American species have been split off into separate genera.